A few inches of snow in Salem causes headaches for residents. Imagine what 27 inches does.

In 1937, residents in the capital city got to experience just that, a storm which produced more than 2 feet of snow in less than 24 hours. The Capital Journal reported some places in Salem had as much as 33 inches of snow, which started early in the day on Jan. 31 and didn’t let up until midnight.

Several buildings suffered damage. At the Oregon State Fairgrounds, four cattle barns and two racing stables reportedly were crushed by the weight of the snow.

The snow also caused many downtown marquees to collapse. The Miller’s Department Store covered structure along Liberty and Court streets was destroyed. Miller’s was in the Reed Opera House building. Police warned residents of walking under any marquees in downtown Salem for fear of collapse.

The marquee in front of Miller’s Department Store, which was in the Reed Opera House, is seen after it was damaged by heavy snow on Jan. 31, 1937. Salem Public Library Historic Collections(Photo: Salem Public Library Historic Collections)

A 22,000-square-foot greenhouse near Market and 17th streets also collapsed.

“In addition, the roof of at least one house was caved in, a community house broken down and many small garages and sheds wholly or partially demolished,” the Oregon Statesman reported.

And just as people today rush to stores for tools to combat the snow, they did in 1937, too. The Capital Journal reported a shortage of shovels available for sale.

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There was a fire in the Marion County Courthouse, but firefighters were unable to get equipment to the site. Extinguishers were used to put out the blaze. However, it took nearly an hour to get the truck back to the fire station after getting help from a grader that was being used for the Capitol excavation.

The storm left many people stranded. Downtown hotels were full with people unable to return home, even in Salem. And a bus with 17 members of the Catholic Daughters of America from Mt. Angel was among a group of vehicles stuck overnight for eight hours in a snowdrift 8 miles south of Salem on Highway 99E. They were freed when snowplows made their way down the highway.

Although there were some electricity and phone service outages, the Capital Journal reported they were minor and repaired quickly.

Damage from the Jan. 31, 1937, snowstorm is seen on Commercial Street. Salem Public Library Historic Collections(Photo: Salem Public Library Historic Collections)

Among the less serious issues caused by the snow, the Chamber of Commerce luncheon was canceled because the cook was stranded at home.

Schools in Salem were closed for two days, as getting around on some streets proved to be near impossible.

The city of Salem used a crew of 72 men in addition to regular street department workers to clear intersections and make room for at least two lanes of traffic on downtown streets. The Capital Journal reported much of the work was done by hand and not by heavy equipment.

Marion County created its own plows “consisting of heavy timbers faced with sheet metal attached to a 60 horsepower Caterpillar” to clear roads outside of Salem, according to the Feb. 2, 1937, Capital Journal. There were issues, however. A Marion County operator was injured when his grader hit a Southern Pacific freight train at 12th and Chemeketa streets NE.

The Capital Journal took the storm in stride, writing in an editorial: “Such snowfalls are rare nowadays in Western Oregon, though pioneers say they were frequent in early days, occasionally remaining for weeks, with the Willamette frozen over for months at a time, and ending in floods greater than any recorded since the early 90s.

“Doubtless something ought to be done about the weather — but it never has been. It certainly needs regulation.”

Andy Zimmerman is a former Statesman Journal copy editor who writes a column about local history twice per month. You can contact him with comments or suggestions for future stories at SJTimeCapsule@gmail.com.